A statue believed to have been made in the likeness of an ancient king was found near the north stairways of the Kyauktaw Mahamuni Buddha image compound in Arakan State on April 26, according to members of the pagoda’s board of trustees.

The statue was found while workers were leveling the ground to lay tile under a banyan tree east of the stairways of the pagoda, said U Thar Hla Aung, chair of the pagoda’s board of trustees.

“When workers were leveling the ground yesterday afternoon to lay tile, they found a statue under the ground. People said it is the statue of a king. I do not know exactly what it is,” he said.

U Nyo Thar Hla, rotating chair of the board of trustees, speculated that the statue was from the late third Danyawady era, circa 4th century A.D.

“I cannot say exactly, but archaeologists can make a determination,” he said.

The statue is attached to a throne and measures 4 feet,10 inches tall, with a shoulder width of 14 inches.